JP2015073466A - Culture medium information registration system and colony detection system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a culture medium information registration system and a colony detection system capable of efficiently capturing images from large amounts of culture media of different sorting classes when counting the colonies on such culture media, without applying special treatment to the culture media beforehand.SOLUTION: When an instruction field corresponding to a sorting class of a film culture medium F set in a feed mechanism 20a of an image scanner 20 is specified with the instruction field by the sorting class displayed on a computer 10, the film culture medium F is supplied, images of the film culture medium F are continuously captured by the image scanner 20, and the images are associated with the sorting class corresponding to the specified instruction field and stored in the computer 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for efficiently capturing an image of a culture medium in which microorganisms and the like are cultured.

  In recent years, with the growth of the fast food and other food service industries and the increase in easy processed foods, the chances of eating foods prepared by others have increased significantly. On the other hand, when dangerous foods such as poisonous substances or harmful microorganisms are mixed in foods such as processed foods, it directly affects the human body. Therefore, when handling processed foods, not only the safety of raw materials but also the hygiene of the manufacturing process is strictly controlled, and the safety of food throughout the production and processing of food is required.

  In order to cope with this, a microbe collected from food is cultured on a petri dish, a film (see Patent Document 2) or a plate, and a colony is counted (counted) to check safety. In order to improve inspection efficiency, a technique has been proposed in which a grayscale image of an inspection result is binarized with a threshold value, and a colony region is cut out and counted. There are a large number of medium types used in the examination according to the type of bacteria to be examined, and the criteria for counting the colonies are different. For practical automatic counting, it is necessary to select a profile (image processing algorithm, parameter, etc.) suitable for each medium type. In order to cope with this, a technique has been proposed in which a plate type label is assigned to a plate that is a medium, and a profile is automatically selected according to the plate type label (see Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent No. 5194068 JP 2011-250742 A

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is difficult to efficiently capture images from a large amount of culture media having different classification types, such as culture media types, unless processing is performed on a culture medium such as a plate.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in the process of counting the colonies on the medium, the medium information that can efficiently capture images from a large amount of mediums with different classification types without special processing of the medium. It is an object to provide a registration system and a colony detection system.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the first aspect of the present invention, an instruction area display unit that displays an instruction area of a classification type, an instruction unit that instructs the instruction area, and an instruction by the instruction unit is performed. In this case, the control means for instructing the supply of the culture medium, the culture medium supply means for supplying the culture medium according to the supply instruction from the control means, and continuously imaging the plurality of culture media supplied by the culture medium supply means, An imaging unit that obtains a captured image corresponding to each culture medium; and a captured image storage unit that stores a plurality of captured images in association with a classification type corresponding to an instruction area instructed by the instruction unit. A medium information registration system is provided.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, an indication area of a classification type such as a culture medium type is displayed, a culture medium is supplied based on an instruction for the indication area, and a plurality of supplied culture media are continuously imaged. In addition, since a plurality of captured images are stored in association with the classification type corresponding to the designated instruction area, it is efficient from a large amount of culture media with different classification types without special processing of the culture medium. It is possible to capture images.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the culture medium information registration system according to the first aspect, the imaging means is an image sensor provided in an image scanner, and the culture medium supply means is a sheet feed provided in the image scanner. It is a mechanism.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image sensor of the image scanner is used as the imaging means, and the medium supply means uses the feed mechanism of the image scanner, so that the sheet-like thin medium can be efficiently imaged. Thus, a captured image can be obtained.

  In the third aspect of the present invention, an image processing profile storage unit that stores an image processing profile in association with a classification type, an instruction area display unit that displays an instruction area of the classification type, and an instruction for the instruction area An instruction means for performing the operation, a control means for instructing a medium supply when an instruction is given by the instruction means, a medium supply means for supplying a medium according to a supply instruction from the control means, and the medium supply means The image processing profile storage is based on an imaging unit that continuously captures a plurality of culture media supplied by the imaging unit and obtains a captured image corresponding to each culture medium, and a classification type that corresponds to the instruction area specified by the instruction unit. Extracting an image processing profile from the means, and performing colony counting processing on the captured image using the extracted image processing profile Providing colony detection system characterized by comprising: a stage, a.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the image processing profile is stored in association with the classification type such as the medium type, the indication area of the classification type is displayed, the medium is supplied based on the instruction for the indication area, A plurality of supplied culture media are continuously imaged, an image processing profile is extracted based on the classification type corresponding to the designated pointing area, and a colony counting process is performed on the captured image using the extracted image processing profile Therefore, even if the medium is not specially processed, it is possible to collectively perform processing using an image processing profile that is optimal for each of a large number of media having different classification types.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the colony detection system according to the third aspect, the imaging means is an image sensor provided in an image scanner, and the culture medium supply means is a sheet feed mechanism provided in the image scanner. It is characterized by being.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the image sensor of the image scanner is used as the imaging unit, and the medium supply unit uses the feed mechanism of the image scanner. Thus, a captured image can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently capture images from a large amount of culture media having different classification types without special processing of the culture media during the process of counting colonies on the culture media.

It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the culture medium information registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a hardware block diagram of the culture-medium information registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the culture-medium information registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the processing operation of the culture medium information registration system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the state of the screen of the display part 6 when a some instruction | indication area | region is displayed. It is a functional block diagram which shows the structure of the colony detection system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the process outline | summary of the colony detection system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the modification of a culture-medium information registration system.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
<1. Medium information registration system>
<1.1. System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of a culture medium information registration system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the culture medium information registration system according to this embodiment includes a computer 10 and an image scanner 20. The display of the computer 10 displays a plurality of instruction areas (uptake start buttons) corresponding to the medium types that are classification types, and when any of the instruction areas is designated, the image scanner 20 displays the corresponding medium types. The medium is continuously imaged to obtain a captured image. The obtained captured image is taken into the computer 10 in association with the medium type corresponding to the designated instruction area.

  In the present embodiment, a film medium F as shown in FIG. 1 is used as the medium. A film culture medium (microorganism culture sheet) is a culture medium formed of a film, and since it is thin and sheet-like, it can be supplied to the imaging position using the feed mechanism of the image scanner 20. As such a film medium, various known media including those disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be employed. In the example shown in FIG. 1, a circular culture layer is provided in the center of a rectangular base material.

  FIG. 2 is a hardware configuration diagram of the culture medium information registration system according to the embodiment of the present invention. The culture medium information registration system according to the present embodiment can be realized by a general-purpose computer and an external device. The computer 10 is a general-purpose computer, and stores a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 2 which is a main memory of the computer, and programs and data executed by the CPU 1, as shown in FIG. A large-capacity storage device 3 such as a hard disk and a flash memory, a key input I / F (interface) 4 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a data input / output I for data communication with an external device such as a data storage medium / F (interface) 5 and a display unit 6 that is a display device such as a liquid crystal display are connected to each other via a bus. The computer 10 is connected to the image scanner 20 via a data input / output I / F 5.

  The image scanner 20 is an image pickup unit that picks up an image of a sheet-like medium such as paper and outputs the obtained picked-up image to a computer. The image pickup function itself is the same as a commercially available image scanner.

  FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the culture medium information registration system according to this embodiment. In FIG. 3, 11 is a control means, 12 is an indication area display means, 13 is an indication means, 21 is a culture medium supply means, 22 is an imaging means, and 14 is a captured image storage means.

  The control unit 11 controls the entire culture medium information registration system, and determines the registration classification of the captured image based on the instruction from the instruction unit 13 and also the culture medium imaging unit 22 with respect to the culture medium supply unit 21. It is a means for instructing the supply. The registered classification of the captured image is determined by the medium type. The control means 11 is realized by the CPU 1 executing a program stored in the storage device 3. The indication area display means 12 is a means for displaying a selectable culture medium type as an indication area, and is realized by the CPU 1 executing a program and causing the display section 6 to display a predetermined indication area. The instruction means 13 is a means for instructing selection of the instruction area displayed on the instruction area display means 12, and the CPU 1 executes a program based on an input signal from the key input I / F 4 to specify the instruction area. Realized. The medium supply unit 21 is a unit that continuously supplies the set medium to the imaging unit 22. The imaging unit 22 is a unit that sequentially captures the culture medium supplied by the culture medium supply unit 21 and obtains a captured image.

  The captured image storage unit 14 is a unit that stores the captured image captured by the imaging unit 22 based on the registration category set by the control unit 11, and is realized by the storage device 3. In the present embodiment, the captured image is stored as a color image in a bitmap format so that colonies can be easily counted when the colony counting process is performed later. Of course, the format of the image is not limited as long as the colony can be counted. Further, it may be stored as a gray scale image instead of a color image.

  Each component shown in FIG. 3 is actually realized by incorporating a dedicated program into hardware such as the computer 10, the image scanner 20, and other peripheral devices as shown in FIG. That is, the computer 10 executes the contents of each means according to a dedicated program.

  The storage device 3 shown in FIG. 2 is mounted with a dedicated program for operating the CPU 1 and causing the computer to function as a culture medium information registration system. By executing this dedicated program, the CPU 1 realizes functions as the control unit 11, the instruction area display unit 12, the instruction unit 13, and the captured image storage unit 14. The storage device 3 not only functions as the captured image storage unit 14 but also stores various data necessary for processing as the culture medium information registration system. In the image scanner 20, the feed mechanism functions as the culture medium supply unit 21, and the image sensor (imaging device such as a CCD) functions as the imaging unit 22.

<1.2. Processing action>
Next, the processing operation of the culture medium information registration system shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the processing operation of the culture medium information registration system according to the embodiment of the present invention. First, a user sets the sheet-like film medium F on the medium supply means 21 in a bundled state. When the culture medium information registration system is activated in this state, the indication area display unit 12 displays a plurality of indication areas (step S10). If the culture medium information registration system is activated, the indication area display means 12 may display a plurality of indication areas, so that the film medium F may be set in the culture medium supply means 21 after the indication area is displayed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state of the screen of the display unit 6 when a plurality of instruction areas are displayed. As shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of instruction areas corresponding to the medium type are displayed on the screen of the display unit 6. In the example of FIG. 5, four instruction areas B1 to B4 are displayed. The instruction area B1 is an area for instructing “AC image capturing start”, and is instructed when imaging an AC culture medium for general living bacteria. The instruction area B2 is an area for instructing “CC image capture start”, and is instructed when imaging a CC medium targeting the coliform group. The instruction area B3 is an area for instructing “start of EC image capture”, and is designated when imaging an EC medium targeting E. coli and coliforms. The instruction area B4 is an area for instructing “SA image capture start”, and is instructed when imaging an SA medium targeting S. aureus. Each instruction area plays a role like a so-called operation button, and an instruction to select the operation button is performed by moving the cursor into the area with an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard and performing an operation such as a click. It is possible.

  In a state where a plurality of instruction areas are displayed, the control unit 11 waits for an instruction from the outside (step S20). The user gives an instruction to one instruction area from among a plurality of instruction areas displayed on the display unit 6 using an input device such as a mouse or a keyboard. When an instruction to operate one instruction area is given by the instruction means 13 based on the user's operation, the control means 11 instructs the medium supply means 21 to supply a medium. And according to the supply instruction | indication from the control means 11, the culture medium supply means 21 supplies the set culture medium to the imaging means 22 (step S30).

  The imaging means 22 images the supplied medium, and obtains a captured image in the bitmap format and color (step S40). Imaging is sequentially performed by the number of supplied culture media. The supply of the culture medium and the control of imaging are realized by a known image scanner control mechanism. One captured image is obtained for each medium set by the process of step S40. The imaging unit 22 passes the captured image obtained by imaging to the control unit 11.

  The control unit 11 registers the captured image received from the imaging unit 22 in association with the culture medium type corresponding to the designated area instructed by the instruction unit 13 (step S50). Specifically, the type of culture medium corresponding to the instructed instruction area is associated with all captured images that have been continuously captured and stored in the captured image storage unit 14. When a general OS (Operating System) is used, an image in which all captured images are stored is stored in a folder of a specific medium type. Of course, the manner in which the captured image is stored is not limited. For example, it can be realized in various modes such as adding a character string corresponding to the medium type to the image file name of the stored captured image, managing the image file of the captured image in the database, and associating it with the medium type.

  For example, when an AC medium is set in the medium supply means 21, the user instructs the instruction area B1 in step S20 on the display screen shown in FIG. Then, the captured image obtained by capturing the AC medium is stored in the captured image storage unit 14 in association with information indicating the AC medium. When a general OS is used, an AC captured image is stored in a folder indicating the AC medium.

  Similarly, when the CC medium is set in the medium supply means 21, the user instructs the instruction area B2 on the display screen shown in FIG. 5 in step S20. Then, the captured image obtained by capturing the CC medium is stored in the captured image storage unit 14 in association with information indicating the CC medium. In this way, by indicating the indication region corresponding to the medium type of the medium set in the medium supply means 21, it is possible to collectively capture the captured images corresponding to the medium type.

<2. Colony detection system>
<2.1. System configuration>
Next, the colony detection system will be described. The colony detection system according to an embodiment of the present invention is similar in appearance and hardware configuration to the culture medium information registration system, as shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 6 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the colony detection system according to this embodiment. In FIG. 6, means having the same function as the culture medium information registration system are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In FIG. 6, 15 is a control means, 16 is a colony counting means, and 17 is an image processing profile storage means.

  The control means 15 controls the entire colony detection system. Based on an instruction from the instruction means 13, the control means 15 specifies the type of medium to be imaged, and sends the medium supply means 21 to the medium imaging means 22. Is a means for instructing the supply. The colony counting unit 16 extracts an image processing profile corresponding to the medium type specified by the control unit 15 from the image processing profile storage unit 17, and executes image processing on the captured image using the extracted image processing profile. A means for counting colonies. The image processing profile storage unit 17 is a storage unit that stores a medium type and an image processing profile in association with each other.

  The control means 15 and the colony counting means 16 are realized by the CPU 1 executing a program stored in the storage device 3. The image processing profile storage unit 17 is realized by the storage device 3. The image processing profile is an algorithm and parameters suitable for each medium type. As the image processing profile, a known image processing profile for colony counting such as that described in Patent Document 1 can be used. In the present embodiment, at least four image processing profiles suitable for AC medium, CC medium, EC medium, and SA medium are stored.

  Each component shown in FIG. 6 is actually realized by mounting a dedicated program on hardware such as a computer and its peripheral devices as shown in FIG. That is, the computer executes the contents of each means according to a dedicated program.

  The storage device 3 shown in FIG. 2 is mounted with a dedicated program for operating the CPU 1 and causing the computer to function as a colony detection system. By executing this dedicated program and the OS and other programs, the CPU 1 realizes functions as the indication area display means 12, the indication means 13, the captured image storage means 14, the control means 15, and the colony counting means 16. become. Further, the storage device 3 not only functions as the image processing profile storage unit 17 but also stores various data necessary for processing as the colony detection system. In the image scanner 20, the feed mechanism functions as the culture medium supply unit 21, and the image sensor functions as the imaging unit 22.

<2.2. Processing action>
Next, the processing operation of the colony detection system shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 6 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a processing outline of the colony detection system according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 7, steps that perform the same processing as in the culture medium information registration system are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. Similar to the medium information registration system, when the processing from step S10 to step S40 is executed and a captured image is obtained, the colony counting unit 16 is instructed by the instruction unit 13 and is based on the medium type specified by the control unit 15. Thus, the corresponding image processing profile is specified (step S60). Specifically, the storage unit 17 is searched for the medium type specified by the control unit 15, and the corresponding image processing profile is extracted.

  Subsequently, colony counting processing is performed on each captured image using the extracted image processing profile (step S70). Since a bundle of the same type of medium is set in the medium supply means 21, all of the obtained captured images correspond to the same type of medium. Since the colony counting process is performed on the captured images of the same medium type using the image processing profile corresponding to the medium type instructed by the instruction unit 13, the process using the optimal image processing profile is performed collectively. It becomes possible.

  It is possible to apply to the hygiene management system etc. using the information of the colony detected in the colony detection system. Specifically, a hygiene management system is realized by incorporating in a computer a program that performs processing such as issuing a warning when the number of colonies detected from raw materials or food in the manufacturing process exceeds a predetermined value. By incorporating a program into a computer that realizes the colony detection system, it is possible to realize a hygiene management system that performs everything from photographing a medium to issuing a warning.

<3. Modification>
Next, a modified example of the culture medium information registration system will be described. The modified example has a configuration corresponding to a thick agar medium rather than a thin sheet-like film medium. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of a modified example of the culture medium information registration system. As shown in FIG. 8, a modified example of the culture medium information registration system includes a computer 10, a camera 30, and a conveyor 40. A plurality of instruction areas (uptake start buttons) corresponding to the medium types are displayed on the display of the computer 10, and when any of the instruction areas is designated, the conveyor 40 conveys the agar medium K corresponding to the medium type. Then, the camera 30 continuously images the agar medium K that has been transported to a predetermined position, and a captured image is obtained. The obtained captured image is taken into the computer 10 in association with the medium type corresponding to the designated instruction area.

  As the camera 30, a digital camera having an image sensor such as a CCD can be adopted. A known belt conveyor can be used as the conveyor 40. The camera 30 and the conveyor 40 correspond to the imaging unit 22 and the culture medium supply unit 21 of FIG. 3, respectively. The processing after the captured image is obtained by the camera 30 is the same as the culture medium information registration system of the above embodiment. Yes, the captured image is registered in the captured image storage means 14 by the processing according to the flowchart of FIG.

  The colony detection system can also be realized by the configuration as shown in FIG. The processing after the captured image is obtained by the camera 30 is the same as the colony detection system of the above embodiment, the image profile is specified by the processing according to the flowchart of FIG. 7, and the colony counting processing is performed on the captured image. Done.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made. For example, although the said embodiment demonstrated the thing corresponding to a film culture medium and an agar culture medium as a culture medium, you may use with respect to culture media of shapes other than these.

  In the above embodiment, the colony detection system continuously performs the colony counting process after obtaining the captured image. However, as shown in the culture medium information registration system, the colony detection system temporarily stores the captured image in the captured image storage unit. Thereafter, the colony counting process may be performed on the captured image at a desired time.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, identification of classification classification, such as registration of a captured image and specification of an image processing profile, was performed according to the culture medium type, but it may be performed according to the dilution rate and the food to be examined.

1 ... CPU (Central Processing Unit)
2 ... RAM (Random Access Memory)
3 ... Storage device 4 ... Key input I / F
5. Data input / output I / F
6 ... Display unit 10 ... Computer 11, 15 ... Control means 12 ... Instruction area display means 13 ... Instruction means 14 ... Captured image storage means 16 ... Colony counting means 17 ..Image processing profile storage means 20 ... Image scanner 20a ... Feed mechanism 21 ... Medium supply means 22 ... Imaging means 30 ... Camera 40 ... Conveyor

Claims (6)

An instruction area display means for displaying an instruction area of the classification type;
Instruction means for instructing the instruction area;
Control means for instructing supply of a medium when an instruction is given by the instruction means;
In accordance with a supply instruction from the control means, medium supply means for supplying a medium;
Imaging means for continuously imaging a plurality of culture media supplied by the culture medium supply means, and obtaining captured images corresponding to each culture medium;
Picked-up image storage means for storing a plurality of picked-up picked-up images in association with the classification type corresponding to the instruction area designated by the instruction means;
A culture medium information registration system comprising: The imaging means is an image sensor provided in an image scanner,
2. The culture medium information registration system according to claim 1, wherein the culture medium supply means is a sheet feed mechanism provided in an image scanner.   The program for functioning a computer as an instruction | indication area | region display means in the culture medium information registration system of Claim 1 or Claim 2, an instruction | indication means, a control means, and a captured image storage means. Image processing profile storage means for storing an image processing profile in association with a classification type;
An instruction area display means for displaying an instruction area of the classification type;
Instruction means for instructing the instruction area;
Control means for instructing supply of a medium when an instruction is given by the instruction means;
In accordance with a supply instruction from the control means, medium supply means for supplying a medium;
Imaging means for continuously imaging a plurality of culture media supplied by the culture medium supply means, and obtaining captured images corresponding to each culture medium;
An image processing profile is extracted from the image processing profile storage unit based on the classification type corresponding to the instruction area specified by the instruction unit, and a colony counting process is performed on the captured image using the extracted image processing profile. A colony counting means to perform;
A colony detection system comprising: The imaging means is an image sensor provided in an image scanner,
5. The colony detection system according to claim 4, wherein the medium supply means is a sheet feed mechanism provided in an image scanner.   A program for causing a computer to function as image processing profile storage means, instruction area display means, instruction means, control means, and colony counting means in the colony detection system according to claim 4 or 5.